3 killed, about 25 injured in explosion in Mumbai

At least three workers were killed and nearly 25 others injured in an explosion at an industrial unit in Dombivili township of Thane district today, police said.

The mishap occurred when cylinders exploded leading to a fire in the chemical manufacturing unit of Herbert Brown Pharmaceutical & Research Laboratories at Shivaji Udyog Nagar of MIDC phase-II area in Dombivili (East), District Disaster Control Officer Dinesh Kurhade said.

Three workers were killed in the explosion and about 25 others injured, a senior IPS officer told PTI.

An eyewitness said that the intensity of the blast was so much that window panes in several adjoining buildings were shattered and people were seen running helter-skelter.

More than a dozen fire tenders were at the site to douse the flames, Kurhade said. Chaos prevailed in the vicinity of the industrial unit where the blast occurred. The injured workers were rushed to various hospitals.

Thane District Collector Dr Mahendra Kalyankar and Municipal Commissioner E Ravindran were monitoring the rescue operation.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has tweeted, "Spoke to police officials & local authorities and asked them to speed up the relief operations."